Mobile communications devices are also known in the art. Recent technology convergence between mobile cellular telephones and digital media players, such as with the iPhone™ are increasingly placing small, portable devices capable of storing large amounts of video and other content in the hands of consumers. While these handheld devices typically include a video screen, the visual experience for high resolution, a large format display could never be replicated in such a device, simply because of the physical size limitations expected of a handheld unit. Further, there has been an explosion of remote personal computing done in day to day activities. Users will browse the Internet using a remote computing device, such as a Personal Digital Assistant, a Smart Phone, or BLACKBERRY® communication device and will conduct business in a remote manner, will listen to music and engage in other activities, (taking pictures, sending and retrieving e-mail, sending and retrieving instant messages, etc.).
Typically, many users spend great amounts of time in personalizing their mobile communication devices. The users of the mobile communication devices, such as, for example, mobile phones will affix jewelry to the device, purchase the device in a certain color, and will download specific software programs to the communication device memory to provide a specific ring tone when receiving a call that is specific to a favorite caller, such as an aunt or uncle. Often because of this personalization, the users will grow an affectionate bond to the handheld device, and will enjoy using the device more because of the specific personalization.
Further, head-worn display devices are known in the art. Such displays include visual and audio devices. These devices provide the wearer of the display with sound and graphics. Typically, the display is a small color monitor arranged to present images to a user's left eye, right eye, or both. These devices often surround the user's face or head and thus not only are heavy but also occlude substantially all of the user's vision. In other words, while wearing the display, the user generally cannot easily view other objects in the user's normal peripheral vision or loses substantial portions of normal peripheral vision during use. Other head worn displays may include two separate displays, one for each eye, that are also supported on a heavy frame.
As a result, consumers are now seeking high-quality, portable, color displays to augment their handheld video devices. One such display is worn on the user's face or head similar to a pair of eyeglasses or headphones. Through recent dramatic developments in optical technologies, these devices can provide the appearance of a large format, high resolution display. One example of such a device is found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,088,234 issued to Naito, et al. and assigned to Matsushita Electrical Industries. The wearable information device described in that patent can display certain information to notify the user, e.g., information about arrival of an e-mail, etc. Another such device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,158,096 issued to Spitzer and assigned to MyVu Corporation. That device includes a projection type display attached to one end of a head-mountable support. An eyepiece assembly is attached to a second end of the support. The support maintains the projection system and the eyepiece assembly in alignment along an optical path.
While, these devices can provide a high-resolution display of images and sound, occlusion of the user's normal viewing space, or a majority thereof can be problematic. The user will typically only use the display in a few, select locations where that user perceives the location to be safe, for example, in a living room, elsewhere in the home, in a work space while seated or standing or in a substantially fixed location. Users cannot efficiently perform many other day to day tasks when wearing an occlusive display device. These tasks include participating in activities requiring moderate to high personal mobility, requiring frequent depth perception adjustments, moving through areas with irregular and uneven surfaces or requiring active collision avoidance (i.e., personally moving through areas or events with constantly changing obstacles, crowds, avoiding fast moving objects that may be encountered, while operating vehicles, negotiating the use of public transportation) or any circumstance where personal safety maybe sacrificed by loss of normal peripheral vision.
Secondly, such prior art head worn displays are limiting in certain limited tasks. Such tasks can include viewing images, graphics or movies with audio. This can be for gaming purposes or recreational viewing of images from a television broadcast or video. Such prior art head worn displays are severely limited in connection with other day-to-day desired functional computing tasks. For example, the user may desire using the display in connection with communication tasks, running business applications, active navigation tasks, mobile instruction with real time updates or using the display to wirelessly control other devices that the user regularly uses or comes in contact with on a day to day basis. These devices can include such as, for example, a Personal Digital Assistant, a notebook computer, a desktop computer, a mobile phone, a vehicle, a wireless network, wireless service hot spot, thin client, other electronic device or an appliance. Such prior art head worn displays often cannot interface with or slave such devices to initiate and control running programs, initiate real time device functional changes, alter real time device operational parameters, enable local or remote wireless communication with mobile devices and/or engage with wireless networks and services.
Thirdly, such prior art devices are not readily upgradeable to provide other functions that the user may desire. A user may desire, in some locations, to have some functional attributes of one or more particular software applications or one or more particular hardware configurations, while in other locations the user may not desire to have those software applications or hardware configurations. In fact, the user may not use such a heavy display device with multiple software applications or hardware configurations, and instead may wish to remove unnecessary software and hardware from the device so the device remains ultra lightweight.
Moreover, users would enjoy more compact mobile devices that can access important data that are lightweight, and do not require users to carry relatively larger, and bulkier computers, such as notebook computers, laptops, tablet computing devices, or relatively larger media players. Additionally, users, when they do carry their laptops, often have to flip the laptop open, then boot the machine, which takes time. This is disfavored, especially, when the user wants a specific information quickly, such as, an address, e-mail, or relevant text from an e-mail attachment, while traveling.
Microsoft Windows SideShow® is a software program that is in an operating system (OS) that supports a secondary screen on a mobile personal computer, such as a laptop computer, that is generally disposed on the rear of the laptop cover. With this additional secondary display, a user can access the Microsoft Windows SideShow® software program to display images on the secondary display while the computer is in sleep mode or turned on or off. Microsoft Windows SideShow® uses convenient mini programs called Gadgets. These Gadget programs extend information from the laptop to other devices. Gadgets can run on computers operating with Microsoft Windows SideShow® compatible device and update that device with information from the computer. Gadgets may allow viewing of information from the computer regardless of whether it is on, off, or in sleep mode. This saves power and a user's time by not requiring booting of the computer. These gadget software programs are limiting and users desire a software gadget that permits wireless access to the laptop computer without the need to use any input device to continuously monitor. Additionally, users desire great amounts of information from the computer while the laptop computer, or PC, is on, off, or in sleep mode.